He leads me to a lavish sitting room with a zebra-skin rug stretched beneath a high-backed sofa. Its embroidery is detailed with foreign artistry.
“Whiskey drinker?” he calls from the bar as he fumbles with a bottle.
“Sometimes,” I lie. Ihatewhiskey.
“Wine, then? Red?”
“Yes, please.”
“Ah, out in here. Wait just a moment,” he says, “I have some in the cellar, finest you will find in the country.” Already crossing the room, he shoots me a playful wink before disappearing.
I sink into the sofa, letting the silence settle—until it breaks.
A laugh. Light, familiar. Arcadia?
I sit up straighter. The hallway is empty, but the sound rings again. It’s soft but distinct.
Curiosity overtakes me and I step into the hall, listening. Silence. Just as I turn back, there it is again. The unmistakable trill. My chest tightens. No. I must be imagining her. I miss her.
Still, I drift down the corridor. White curtains flutter open from windows. Warm lamplight flickers from wall sconces. Doors line each side, all shut—except one. A gentle creak echoes as it opens. Light flickers at the end, bathed in amber from a dancing fire.
“Hello?” I call. No answer.
Music begins, soft and sweeping, issuing from a record player in the corner of the room.
I step inside and over to the spinning record, watching the needle glide.
Now, who started you?
Then the tune shifts.
I know this song, every note. My mother used to sing it to me.
The tune changes to a hum, and my mother’s voice begins to play.
“Sleep and hush. Time can wait.
My little star, the world is yours to create.
You shine so true, my precious one.
Your glow will last when the day ends and dark comes.”
I haven’t heard my mother’s voice since the day she begged I run, since her blood drenched my hands, so thick it clung to me for days.
I freeze, my heart folding in on itself, barbed wires constricting around it with every beat.
Air. I can’t breathe. My lungs seize. My eyes burn from the rivers cast down my cheeks.
“Forever in your love I will stay,
To guide you home and light your way.
Never be truly afraid.
However, my sweet little love,
You are far too clever.”
